


Elysium

by Jessy Ellis (heyjessypants)



Category: Lore Olympus (Webcomic)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-19 16:20:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20212687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyjessypants/pseuds/Jessy%20Ellis
Summary: Persephone gets a job.This story picks up after the end of Chapter 42 (Persephone gives Hades her internship paperwork and he says no).





	1. Chapter 1

“Persephone...I’m sorry, but this is out of the question.”

Persephone’s eyes widened. “What do you mean it’s out of the question? Hera said-”

“Regardless of what Hera said,” Hades interrupted, “Having you work in the Underworld is completely inappropriate.”

Persephone’s eyes narrowed. “What did you just say to me?” she asked, voice dangerously low.

Hades cleared his throat, sensing the danger. “I said it’s inapprop-”

Persephone leapt off the couch. “Inappropriate?  _ Inappropriate?! _ I am sick to  _ death _ of people telling me what’s appropriate and what’s not. Since the moment I was born I’ve had people telling me what I should do, and what I shouldn’t, from my mother to that  _ shitty little sun god Apollo _ , and you know what, Hades? I’m  _ done. _ ” She glared at him, fists clenched at her sides, chest heaving.

Hades had plenty of experience dealing with overwrought people. Employees, souls, bereaved mortals...they all needed the same thing: to be heard, and then presented with hard logic. They always saw reason. He sat back on the couch where he sat opposite Persephone and crossed his legs. 

“I can understand why you feel that way, Persephone. I’m sure it’s very frustrating.”

“Frustrating?!” Persephone huffed, throwing her hands in the air. “It’s  _ infuriating _ ! Nobody gives a Fates-damn what  _ I _ want. ‘Kore, you’re the spokes-goddess for my cereal empire now. Kore, you’re a sacred virgin now.  _ Persie, you’re my girl now’,” _ she spat with a sneer.

Hades jaw dropped.  _ Sacred virgin? Wait,  _ whose _ girl?!  _

She paced back and forth, gaining steam. “I have never _once_ gotten to make a decision on my own. Oh, I’m so _young_ and _small_ and that _obviously_ makes me incapable of doing _anything_. I have to fight so hard for even the slightest bit of autonomy and as soon as I get it somebody else decides to take it away from me. I’ve spent my entire life just trying to do what everybody else wants me to do and I am so _sick_ of it!_”_

As he watched, a wreath of red vines sprouted in her hair and wove through her braid. Hades took a deep breath. He was over 2000 years old. He’d survived the War of the Titans. He was a  _ king _ . He could handle one angry goddess. He looked at Persephone who now stood still, huffing, her cheeks flushed magenta with rage.

Hades shifted slightly in his seat and met her her wild eyes calmly. “Here’s the problem I’m having, Persephone. The Underworld is a dangerous place.” He sighed. “I am a dangerous person. Have you not noticed that something bad happens to you any time you’re near me?”

Persephone rolled her eyes.

“Please let me finish. As king, it is my responsibility to see to the safety of anyone who is in my realm. I have proven three times over that I am not capable of keeping you safe when you are here. That being the case, I think it’s best that you find occupation in Olympus instead. I’ll speak to Hera.”

Hades froze as he saw the blood drain from Persephone’s face.

“Safe?” she rasped. “ _ Safe? _ Hades, I’m not safe  _ in my own house _ . My roommate is Artemis, goddess of the hunt and  _ chastity _ . A sacred virgin.  _ Protector of young women _ . That’s the only reason my mother let me come to Olympus. Because Artemis doesn’t allow  _ men _ in her house. She would  _ keep me safe _ .”

Hades couldn’t pry his eyes away from Persephone’s livid features.

“Artemis allows men in her house, Hades. She allows Apollo in the house. She allows him in the house when she’s not home. When she’s working in the mortal realm,” Persephone’s eyes took on a faraway look, as though she were looking through him at something in the distance. Hades started to feel a knot form in the pit of his stomach.

“He woke me out of a dead sleep. He put his hands all over me. He took off my underwear. I told him I’m supposed to be a sacred virgin. I told him to stop. He wouldn’t stop. He  _ took _ me. It  _ hurt _ . When he was done he kissed me and told me I was his girl but not to tell anyone.  _ And then he left.” _

Persephone’s eyes sharpened and met Hades’s again. He tried to process what she was saying, but all he could think was that her glare would bore straight through the back of his skull. 

“And now he won’t leave me alone. He found me at school. He was in my kitchen this morning. He said he wants to talk to me. He thinks I’m his girlfriend, that we just need to “practice” at sex and I’ll start to enjoy it. Who’s going to keep me safe from him, Hades? Not Artemis. Not Hermes, or Eros. Not you. I have to do it myself.  _ I will keep myself safe. _ ”

She closed her eyes. Her hands started to glow and rose bushes bearing huge red blossoms and ferocious-looking thorns sprouted up around her. “Did you  _ see _ what I did in Tartarus, Hades? I grew a  _ forest _ . I’m not supposed to be able to do that here, am I? Things don’t grow in the Underworld, do they, Hades?”

She locked eyes with him again and his breath caught in his throat.

“I made things grow here, Hades. Surely that means something. And I intend to find out what. You will give me a job, Hades, or Fates help me I will turn this  _ entire building _ into a forest that you will never find your way out of.”

As Hades beheld the righteous anger of Spring manifesting in front of him, he had absolutely no doubt that she could, and  _ would _ . 

She was  _ splendid _ .

They didn't break eye contact. The tension crackled between them, but as the seconds ticked by Hades saw Persephone slowly start to wilt. The vines in her hair faded away. The rose bushes gradually dissolved into a pile of pink petals. Her face crumpled and he watched her collapse to her knees as if in slow motion. 

Hades leapt up and crossed to her in two long strides, dropping to one knee in front of her. She waved away his hesitant hands.

“I'm okay. I'm just exhausted. I haven't really slept since…since Apollo…” She trailed off, a single tear running down her cheek. She dashed it away angrily. 

She tossed her head and pointed a challenging look at Hades. “I'm fine. Where do we start?” 

Hades raised an eyebrow, “Kore, I don't…”

“You're my boss. I don't think it's appropriate for you to call me that in the workplace. Please call me Persephone.”

Hades's other eyebrow went up. “I will certainly do so when the time comes but you haven't been on-boarded, which means that you don't work for me yet.  _ Kore.”  _

He hadn't meant to infuse her name with so much feeling. He looked at her sharply.  _ Did she notice? I don't think so… _

He stood and offered his hand to help her up. “I have a chaise in the other room that's quite comfortable. If you would like, you can go in there to rest for a little while. Then I thought I could give you a tour while we discuss your role here at Underworld Corp before we go to HR to start your paperwork. If that's agreeable to you, of course.”

As he spoke, Persephone took his hand and let him raise her to her feet. She stood a little unsteadily and had to catch his arm to keep her balance. She smiled ruefully.

“Yes, a little rest might be a good idea. Not too long,” she warned. “Thirty or forty five minutes should be sufficient.”

Hades nodded and gestured her through to the small sitting room off his main office. It was dim, and a little bit warmer, but Persephone still shivered. Hades pulled a basket off the bottom shelf of one of the bookcases that lined the walls and produced a soft, light blue blanket. He turned to see that Persephone had already stretched herself out on the chaise and was self-consciously brushing her hands down her skirt.

He unfurled the blanket with a flourish and settled it over her legs. He stood over her, awkwardly clenching and unclenching his hands. Why did he feel the urge to kneel down and embrace her, kiss her sweet, tired face, tuck her in and see her warm and comfortable?  _ Stop it, Hades. _

She looked up at him and smiled wearily. “Thank you, Hades. This is perfect. Remember, 45 minutes at the most. Then please come get me.”

Hades nodded. “Rest well, Persephone, Goddess of Spring.” He quietly slipped out and closed the door.

Hades sat down and tried to do something productive as the minutes ticked by, but he couldn’t stop thinking about what she’d said. 

_ “Did you see what I did in Tartarus, Hades? I grew a  _ forest _ . I’m not supposed to be able to do that here, am I? Things don’t grow in the Underworld, do they, Hades?” _

She was right, of course. Things  _ couldn’t _ grow in the Underworld. He looked out the window at the giant tree growing out of the roof of Tower 4, it’s pink blossoms glowing in the ambient light from the surrounding buildings.  _ How is that possible? _

He finally shook himself and checked the clock. 45 minutes exactly. He sincerely doubted that she’d be ready to wake up yet, but he’d promised. 

He silently opened the door to the sitting room and peeked in. Silence. He crept over to the chaise. He felt his heart squeeze. 

When he'd left her, Persephone had been laying back in the slightly reclined sitting position the chaise was made for. Now, she was curled up on the seat, her fists tucked up under chin, the blanket wrapped around her like a cocoon. 

She'd taken her hair down and it hung off the side of chaise and pooled on the floor. The hair comb he'd bought her that morning was tucked carefully into one of her shoes, which were placed neatly on the floor. 

Her face was screwed up in an expression of fierce concentration, brows drawn down, pink lips frowning. She jerked in her sleep and muttered something unintelligible. 

Hades silently dropped to his knees next to her and gently stroked her hair, whispering, “It's alright, sweetness, you're safe. Shh, you're safe.” To his amazement, the muscles of her face relaxed and she heaved a great sigh, settling further into sleep. 

He didn't know how long he knelt there, watching her sleep. Long enough to have three more opportunities to soothe her out of what he thought must be bad dreams. His heart pounded, and he ached to hold her again like he'd done in Tartarus. 

Finally, he rose and silently left her to her rest. 

When Hades walked back into his office, Hecate was sitting in one of the chairs in front of his desk. He took a deep breath.

“Hello, Hecate. Do we have a meeting scheduled?”

“No,” Hecate turned in her seat to look at him. “But we’re meeting anyway. What the hell is going on? Where is Persephone?”

Hades sat down in his chair and sighed. “She’s sleeping in my sitting room.”

Hecate raise an eyebrow in question, but said nothing.

“She’s exhausted, Hecate. Aside from the fact that she grew a  _ forest _ in Tartarus, she apparently hasn’t been sleeping well. Something-” He swallowed. “Apparently something happened that...disrupted her ability to sleep.”

Hades had been so fixated on how Persephone had been able to bring new life into the Underworld that he hadn’t stopped to process what she’d said about Apollo. Now the pieces were falling into place and he felt anger starting to build.

Hecate eyed him. “Did she tell you what that something was?”

Hades clenched his fists, his knuckles popping so loudly he was certain Hecate must have heard. 

“She said that Apollo was over while Artemis was in the mortal realm. He went to her room and…” Hades almost choked on the words he had to say next. “She said he _ took  _ her. She told him to stop but he did it anyway,” He inhaled sharply through his nose. “ _ She said it hurt,”  _ he hissed. 

Hades eyes met Hecate’s horrified gaze. “I want to kill him.”

Hecate nodded. “Then let’s kill him.”

Hades smiled humorlessly. “Do you know what our entire conversation was about today, Hecate? It was about how nobody lets Persephone make her own choices. Nobody lets her have autonomy,” He sighed. “After all that, how can I take her vengeance away from her?”


	2. Chapter 2

Another two hours passed. Hades filled Hecate in on what he'd seen in Tartarus, the internship and the conversation that he'd had with Persephone when he’d rejected it. He left out the embrace. And the way she looked at him. And the shoe thing.  _ None of that is relevant _ . 

“I have no idea what job I would give her. I don't know what her qualifications are,” Hades sighed. “Why in the immortal realm would Hera send Persephone to  _ me _ ?” 

Hecate regarded him for a moment. “As far as I know she doesn't have any kind of office experience. But she, is without a doubt, the most intelligent goddess I've ever known, so I'm confident that she'll be able to handle whatever you throw at her. Provided she has the resources she needs to learn,” Hecate leaned toward him. “Challenge her, Hades. Don't coddle her. Challenge her and hold her the highest possible standard. She will surprise you.” 

Hades nodded seriously, brow furrowed. “Tell me what you think about this. I thought that, once she wakes up, I would take her on a tour of Underworld Corp. Show her what we do and how we do it. And then let her decide what she might like to do.”

Hecate tilted her head thoughtfully. “It’s unorthodox. We’d need to talk to HR about shifting around headcount to accommodate whatever she decides, but...I like it.” Hecate rewarded him with one of her rare smiles. “I like it a lot.”

She glanced at her watch. “It’s 1 o’clock already, Hades. You should go wake her up.” Hecate snapped her fingers and disappeared.

Hades nodded to himself, looking at the sitting room door. He pressed a button on his desk phone. Minthe’s voice crackled over the intercom. “Yes, Your Majesty?”

“Minthe, can you please order up lunch? For two.” He thought quickly. “Better make one of them vegetarian, just in case.”

There were a few beats of silence.

“Vegetarian?”

“That’s what I said. I don’t know if Ms. Persephone eats meat and she is...indisposed at the moment.”

“...I see. Right away.  _ Your Majesty.”  _ The crackle stopped.

Hades eyed the intercom warily. He knew that tone; they were going to have a fight about this later. He rolled his eyes. He wasn’t interested in spending another evening explaining that there was nothing happening between him and Persephone.   
  
_ You’d like there to be, though, wouldn’t you? You old dirty bastard. _

Hades rolled his eyes again, this time at himself, and opened the door to the sitting room. She hadn’t budged in the time since he’d last checked on her. This time, though, her face was relaxed and calm. 

_ She looks like an angel _ …

He squatted down next to her head and wondered how to go about waking her up. His hand hovered over her hesitantly for a moment until he finally settled on gently rubbing her arm.

“Kore,” he said softly. “It’s time to wake up, sweetness.”

_ Why did you call her that? Stop it! _

“Kore,” he rubbed her arm a bit more firmly and she started to stir. “I ordered some lunch for us. Do you want some?”

Persephone’s eyes fluttered open and she glared at him owlishly from her blanket cocoon. “Lunch? It’s too early for lunch.”

Hades looked away. “Well, it would have been if I’d woken you up after 45 minutes. But...I didn’t.” He glanced back to see her reaction.

She closed her eyes and sighed. “I should be annoyed at you, but if I’m being totally honest I feel like I could sleep for three straight days.” She started flailing her arms feebly, trying to free herself from the blanket wound around her body. “How did I manage to do this?” she muttered, pulling at the fabric ineffectively. She looked up at Hades helplessly. “I think I live here now?”

Hades laughed. “Let me help you.” He reached down and hoisted her into a sitting position, careful to not let her hair get caught on anything. Once she was upright he was able to find the edge of the blanket and unwind it. 

Persephone groaned. “I was so  _ warm _ .”

“I’m sorry, Kore,” he frowned. “I can turn the heat up if you’d like.”

She looked up at him, gratefully. “Do you mind? That would be wonderful.”

“Sure, I’ll be right back,” he smiled down at her.

The thermostat was in his office read at a reasonable 65 degrees. He thought for a moment, then pressed the up arrow until the number read 70. He hoped it was enough; any more than that and he’d be a puddle of sweat.

When he returned to the sitting room Persephone was seated on the chaise, facing the mirror, carefully re-braiding her hair. Hades paused in the door to observe the graceful curves of her body as her arms reached this way and that, doing whatever magic goddesses did to make their hair look the way it did. At last she secured it with the comb he’d given her with a sigh, and reached down to grab her shoes.

Hades cleared his throat, trying not to look at the shoes. Looking at the shoes would lead to thinking about her tiny foot, her delicate ankle, her smooth calf, and her thigh...the edge of that stocking, the ribbon…

_ STOP IT. _

She looked at him expectantly. “Persephone, Goddess of Spring, I see you are back among the living. Can I offer you some coffee or tea?” he asked.

“Do you have any of the coffee we had at your house on Sunday? I kind of liked it,” she smiled shyly.

“Sure. It’s not exactly the same because it’s brewed a little differently, but the beans are the same. I think you’ll like it.” He reached out a hand to her and she took it, sliding her tiny fingers into his palm and rising to her feet.

He led her back into his office and seated her on the sofa facing his wet bar. He busied himself filling the electric kettle and measuring out and grinding the beans for a fresh French press of coffee, inexplicably humming to himself. Hades didn’t hum.

He poured the boiling water over the grounds in the press and set the timer, then set the press on a tray with two cups, a small pitcher of cream and a tiny bowl with sugar cubes. He turned and saw that Persephone was standing at the window.

He set the tray gingerly on the coffee table, trying to not rattle anything and interrupt her thoughts, and quietly went to stand beside her, hands folded behind his back.

“Did I do that?” she asked, staring at the tree growing out of the roof of Tower 4.

“You did.”

“...how?”

“I don’t know, Kore. I really don’t.”

She looked up at him, bewildered.

“At my house on Sunday you said something about being an ‘amateur goddess’. Kore...there is nothing ‘amateur’ about you. You are  _ powerful _ . As powerful as any of the other Olympians. Perhaps more so.” Unbidden his hand came up to brush a stray hair away from her face and stayed, cupping her cheek. “Once you learn to control your powers, you will be a force to be reckoned with.”

Persephone’s cheeks flushed and she leaned into his palm, closing her eyes.

**BEEP-BEEP. BEEP-BEEP. BEEP-BEEP.**

The timer on the French press went off and they both jumped out of their skins. They stared at each other wild-eyed for a moment before Persephone decided her right shoe needed urgent attention and Hades spun around to press the coffee.

As he leaned over the stainless steel press he took several deep breaths.  _ What the hell was  _ that _ ?!  _ He whirled again as he heard a soft throat-clear behind him.

“Is the coffee ready?” she asked.

“Y-yes! Please, take a seat.” He smiled crookedly and gestured to the couch. She sat primly on the edge with her hands folded in her lap.

“W-would you like cream or sugar?” he asked, pouring the first cup.

“No, thank you, I think I’ll try it plain first.”

He smiled again, shyly, as he handed her the cup and then turned to pour one for himself. That done, he sat down a respectful distance from her. They sipped quietly for a few moments.

Hades finally broke the silence. “How do you li-”

He was interrupted by a knock on his office door. Immediately the knob turned and the door opened to reveal Minthe, with a paper sack in each hand and a scowl on her face. Hades stood and squared his shoulders, the quintessential executive.

“Thank you, Minthe, you can just set those on the coffee table.” As he gestured to the table in question he observed the most peculiar staring match happening between Minthe and Persephone. Minthe was staring daggers at Persephone who returned her gaze with the cool confidence of someone who knew the other person’s secrets. This went on for two long beats before Hades cleared his throat and Minthe’s eyes jerked away from Persephone to look at him.

Persephone’s eyes, he noticed, never left Minthe.

“Minthe, if you would be so kind, could you please contact HR and let them know that Ms. Persephone and I will be coming down there around 3 or 3:30 to get her new hire paperwork in order?”

“Her...her what?” Minthe’s jaw hung open.

Hades frowned. “Her new hire paperwork. Hera selected her to be part of the Olympus to Underworld Intern Exchange Program. Really, Minthe, the digital copies of her application surely must have come through by now. How can you not have seen them? Just please let HR know that we’ll be coming down around 3 or 3:30.”

Minthe stared at him tight-lipped for a moment before snapping, “Of course, Your Majesty,” whirling on her heel and storming out, slamming the door behind her.

Hades stared after her impassively for a moment, then turned to Persephone. “Well, Kore, I imagine you’re probably hungry after all your adventures today. Let’s see what we’ve got, shall we?”

Persephone was staring thoughtfully at the closed office door, but when Hades spoke her head snapped in his direction. “Yes! I’m starving!”

Hades sat next to her and they reached into their bags. “I had Minthe order a vegetarian meal for you, because I wasn’t sure what you’d prefer and I didnt want to wake you…” he trailed off as he looked the giant hamburger in Persephone’s box. He looked quickly at his...also a giant hamburger. Hades’s jaw clicked.

“It-it’s fine,” Persephone hurried to say. “I can just take the patty off and eat the bun.”

“No.” Hades set his box on the table rather harder than necessary and held out his hand to take Persephone’s as well. She timidly set it in his hand, blushing.

“I appreciate your flexibility, Kore, but after everything that’s happened I’m not going to make you eat a burger bun with mayonnaise and ketchup on it for lunch,” Hades said. “I’ll take you out for lunch, and then we’ll take a tour of Underworld Corp. Does that sound okay?”

Persephone smiled up at him. “It sounds great. The only problem is that I don’t have a coat anymore...”

“Not a problem! The Underworld is alive with the sounds of capitalism. There’s a boutique on the first floor that should have something for you.” Hades grabbed his own coat off the rack next to his door.

“B-but...oh, this is so embarrassing,” Persephone stammered. “I don’t have any money for a new coat.” Her eyes started to glisten with unshed tears.

Hades knees hit the ground in front of her so hard he thought he might have broken his kneecaps if he’d been mortal. “No. Kore, please. Let me buy you a new coat. Nothing funny, it’s just the least I can do for you since your coat was destroyed on my watch. Please?” He looked up at her with more pleading in his eyes that he really intended.

Persephone looked down at him with an expression rather like the one she’d had in Tartarus. “O-okay. Just this once. Only because that skeleton ripped mine.”

Hades bounded to his feet. “Excellent. Shall we?” He crooked his elbow in her direction and she blushed as she took his arm. He swung his office door open and they descended the stairs from the penthouse to level 99. Minthe’s head jerked up in surprise to see them emerge from the entryway.

“Minthe” Hades said, “I specifically asked you to order a vegetarian meal, but we ended up with two very non-vegetarian hamburgers. Any idea what might have gone wrong?” Hades fixed her with a gimlet eye.

Minthe matched him stare for stare. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty, I asked them for a black bean burger. I can’t imagine what happened,” she said flatly.

“It’s alright, Minthe. Perhaps they inadvertently sent it to Tartarus.” Persephone put in, smiling sweetly.

Minthe’s head snapped to look at Persephone, her eyes wide. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean, Ms. Persephone.”

“Of course you don’t.” Persephone held Minthe’s gaze for a moment longer, then looked up at Hades. “Shall we?”

Hades quirked an eyebrow. “Indeed. Minthe,” he looked over his shoulder as they walked toward the door, “I’m taking Persephone to lunch and to get her a new coat. Please hold all my calls for the rest of the day.”

Hades stopped to open the door for Persephone, who shot a smug look at Minthe over her shoulder before beaming a smile up at Hades and swaying her hips as she maneuvered around him and out the door.

Hades didn’t even glance back.

Minthe seethed.


	3. Chapter 3

Hades watched indulgently while Persephone pawed through the coats in the Tower 1 boutique. He was already starting to get a feel for what she liked; nothing plainly cut. Nothing too dark, nothing too bright. She had a good eye for style whether she knew it or not.

She finally settled on a lavender wool coat, fitted to the waist, fastened by two buttons, with a wide collar, and a full flared skirt that hit her just above mid-calf and moved in a most hypnotic way when she walked. When she tried it on Hades’s mouth went dry; he hadn’t seen her in anything but shades of pink, and the light purple fabric made her skin glow. 

“It looks like we have a winner,” he murmured as she twirled for him. “Are you happy with it, Kore?”

Persephone spun again, making the skirt lift up and out from her legs. “I love it!” She stopped twirling. “It’s kind of expensive, Hades. It’s more expensive than my old coat. I don’t think…”

He held up a hand to stop her and leaned down to look her in the eye. “It’s fine, Kore. I’m happy to get you something you like. You look lovely,” Hades blushed and cleared his throat. “But mainly, I feel like it’s really the least I can do after what happened in Tartarus.” 

Persephone looked down and blushed too, occupying herself with adjusting the folds of the coat. Hades reached into his pocket and produced the brooch she’d worn on her old coat. “May I?” he inquired.

Persephone looked up, surprised, then nodded, and he carefully pinned the brooch on her left lapel. “There,” he said. “Perfect.”

* * *

In the interest of saving time, they grabbed lunch to go. Persephone happily munched on a portobello mushroom wrap as Hades took her around Underworld Corp, explaining how they onboarded the dead. Persephone showed a particular interest in the process of judgement, and peppered him with questions about the criteria he and the other judges used to determine the eternal fate of mortal souls.

“Okay, so there are multiple levels to Tartarus. And the more wicked you were in life, the deeper level you’re sent to for your punishment,” Persephone mused as they walked.

“That’s right,” Hades nodded.

“But if you’re  _ not _ wicked, you just get sent to the Fields of Asphodel,” Persephone stopped and looked up at him. “Why do you have a tiered punishment system, but not a tiered reward system?”

Hades was taken aback, partly at having his governance questioned and partly because he wondered why he’d never thought of it himself. He cleared his throat.

“That’s an interesting concept, Persephone. I’ll have to think on it.”

The tour finished in the Human Resources department. Before they went in, Hades turned to Persephone. “So, Persephone, Goddess of Spring, now that you’ve seen everything the Underworld has to offer, what do you think you’d like to do?”

Persephone didn’t hesitate. “Righteous and virtuous mortal souls deserve more than an eternity of neutral oblivion,” she said firmly. “They deserve a paradise where they can indulge in the things they loved in life. I want to build it.” As he looked down at her, Hades’s chest tightened at the look of fierce determination on her face.

“Very well,” he replied, and ushered her through the doors into the HR department.

They approached the front desk. “Agata,” Hades smiled, “How are you today?”

A tall, willowy green nymph leapt to her feet at their appearance. “Your Majesty! What an honor and a pleasure for you to grace us with your presence today! How may I be of service?”

“Agata, we need to onboard a new intern. This is Persephone, Goddess of Spring.” Persephone stepped forward and smiled as Hades gestured in her direction. 

“This is going to be a bit of a complex onboarding, because we’ll need to create a new role for her,” Hades explained as Agata took notes. “Put her in Operations, but have her report directly to me rather than Hecate. I’m putting her in charge of something totally new. We’ll call it Project-”

“Elysium,” Persephone put in promptly. “Project Elysium.”

* * *

A short time later, Persephone was officially an Underworld Corp intern. Hades looked at her across his desk. She returned his gaze expectantly.

“Alright, Persephone. You’ve taken on a really ambitious project. I’ll do everything I can to ensure you have what you need to be successful, but ultimately success or failure is up to you.”

Persephone gave a determined nod. “I understand, Hades. I won’t let you down.”

Hades smiled. “Good. I’m going to assign you a project manager. They’ll be able to help you visualize the process, lay out your strategy, and operate as a liaison to any other internal teams from whom you might need help or buy-in.”

“That sounds great. When will I be able to meet them?” Persephone met his eyes calmly.

“I’ll have someone lined up for you by the end of the week,” Hades replied. “We may need to pull someone off a current project, which means shuffling priorities. In the meantime, I’d like for you to put together a high level outline of your vision and present it to me on Friday. Does that sound reasonable?”

Persephone nodded. “No problem, boss!” She paused. “Where do I sit?”

It was Hades’s turn to pause. HR hadn’t assigned her a desk, and he’d not given it any thought himself. The area closest to his office, occupied by his executive support staff, was completely full and he found himself loathe to put her further away than that. Then a lightbulb went on.

“I know just the spot,” he said, rising. “There’s a second desk in my private waiting area. It’s not in use at the moment because I don’t find it necessary to have a junior assistant. Then you’ll have a semi-private place to work on this project, and you’ll have easy access to me if there’s anything you need.”

Persephone stood as well, a smile Hades couldn’t quite interpret playing about her lips. “That sounds great!”

_ “YOUR MAJESTY, I.T. IS HERE WITH A LAPTOP FOR...MS. PERSEPHONE.” _ Hades’s intercom interjected.

“Thank you, Minthe, we’ll be right down.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued! Probably?


End file.
